News

All News Articles

Transcript from Head Coach Claude Julien on 9/21

by
Staff Writer
/ Boston Bruins

BOSTON BRUINS TRAINING CAMP QUOTES

Monday, September 21 2015

BOSTON BRUINS HEAD COACH CLAUDE JULIENOn what he looks for when a rookie comes back from his second year of Training Camp, like David Pastrnak…Well number one is you hope he’s got a lot more confidence. You know, his first year probably very nervous. And you know even playing games throughout the years. I know he started off in Providence and he worked his way up here and basically had half a year with us and that’d been it. So to me he looks like a guy who’s gotten a lot more confidence; he’s gotten a lot stronger. No doubt he’ll be even more when I say at ease, in a good way, and that’s going to be I think a big difference here. You hope that a player of that age gets a little better in the areas that he needs to. And we know last year on open ice he seems very good but in traffic and battles he’s a guy that needs to get stronger and so he has done that. But he’s got to continue to work on that part of his game because a lot of it right now is in the battles along the walls. And that’s part of the game nowadays - you have to be smart enough and strong enough to come out of there with the puck.

On if he sees him as David Krejci in the way that he finds chemistry with guys he’s played with for a long period of time…Well, he could but at the same time I think this year looking at you know some of our lineup options we’re probably going to have opportunities to move guys around at times so I’m not going to stand here and say well we’re planning on holding onto our lines you know for the most part that may happen. If it happens its because everything’s going well but you always reserve the option to move guys around do as I said earlier my message is still the same to you guys. We plan on trying guys with different players and see where the best fit is.

On if he thinks Max Talbot role will change…Not really I think as far as, he’s a great leader and you can ask anybody in that dressing room. He comes to play, wants to win, yes he’s not that top line player that’s going to score the goals and everything else but a team to succeed needs a little bit of everything. He’s certainly got some versatility where he can play either position. He does have some grit I see right now a guy who’s skating pretty well so he’s having a decent camp right now. I think it’s a matter of where everybody’s going to fit at the end but you know he can certainly play a third line role just like he could fill in the forth line anywhere he wanted to go so Max Talbot is one of those guys as well. It’s nice to have those guys that can play those role into only that but both of those guys can play center in the past. And you know how much emphasis I put on that, the more guys that can take face-offs and we can start with the puck the better it is for a hockey club.

On if it would be a leap of faith to put Spooner with Kelly to pick up some of the slack…Yeah if [Chris] Kelly played with [Ryan] Spooner, yeah as far as the D zone and coming down low and helping out that’s always a possibility. There’s a lot of things we’re going to look at and like I said to you earlier there’s a lot this year that gives us an opportunity to move guys around, parts around to make it work.

On if there’s an update on Dennis Seidenberg…Still no update, guys. Nothing’s changed from the last time.

On if there’s any update on Seth Griffith…I haven’t heard actually today I haven’t asked about him much. He’s not in practice so from last night what I was told is he’s seeing our doctors today. So I don’t know if that’s happened or if that’s going to happen.

On if he’s made any cuts yet…No. That’s not, Steve...I haven’t been told that we’ve cut anybody. We still got the third group going out there right now. And Sweens [Don Sweeney] will make those announcements if that is the case.

On if he has any idea when there will be cuts…No, not sure. But whether it’s today or tomorrow. But in the next few days here, whether it starts today, tomorrow, something by Wednesday for sure. We’ve got some numbers crunched down.

On if he’s ever had this many players at a Training Camp…Only when I played - we used to have four teams back then. We’d just scrimmage and beat the crap out of each other. Who ever was left had a chance to make the team. That’s how it worked back then. Other than yet, this is as big as I’ve had as a coach, if that’s the question, I think so.

On if it’s an advantage to have this many players at Training Camp…I haven’t seen any issues with that because you know what, I think the guys that have been here have been guys that’ve been warranted to be here you know. And there was even a question of bringing a few more, you know, on PTOs [potential try outs] and stuff like that. So I was open to that as well. We had, you know, two groups that pretty well had four teams and just the third group we could have had another line there to make it three even groups so. Had the opportunity come where we would have had a few more players we would’ve done that so. Whether its two groups or three groups, I think that as long as they deserve to be here and that it gives us a chance to evaluate those guys I have no issues.

On if he sees Torey Krug as a top four type of player who can play in all situations…I mean he’s getting better every year, you know, and for him to want to be a top four is great to hear. It shows that the guy has got some ambitions and he’s not just satisfied with what he’s got or where he is. And there’s no doubt if he continues to get better, and we feel he’s a top four or whatever, again for me a top four is I guess just a number I think its more about minutes played. So whether he plays on the third pair but he ends up at the end of the night with twenty minutes I think that’s top four minutes. So right now I’ve seen a guy in camp that’s skating well and has got great confidence and in great shape but where we’ll see where that goes. And these guys have yet to play a game this year, so we’ll continue to evaluate them as we go along here.

On if he guards against confidence in rookies who are coming back for their second Training Camp…No I don’t think… confidence is never a bad thing, you know and I don’t think there’s anybody that’s over confidence. And sometimes when you are or you try to get a little too cute because you’re here. That’s our jobs as coaches to say, you might want to choose a safer player or a smarter play or whatever it is but no I have no issues with somebody coming in confidence. What I don’t want to see is somebody coming in cocky. There’s a difference there between confidence and cocky- and I don’t like cockiness I like confidence.

On players who think that are over confident just because they have been to Training Camp before…Yeah, that doesn’t sit well with me.

On if Torey Krug’s size makes him less capable of playing against bigger offensive player and playing a lot of minutes…No. I think it’s a matter of, you know as a coach, assessing the situation. There could be games where he definitely is a top four; he can play. Could be games where you’re playing a real heavy team and it doesn’t mean you don’t try to give him top four minutes but if you see him struggling in battles and spending a lot of time in our own end because we’re not coming out with the puck in the corners then you have got to adjust. And that doesn’t mean he’s not a top four or top four-minute kind of guy it just means that as a coach you’re doing your job and you’re making the right adjustments so. That’s the way I would look at that situation.

On if Torey Krug would have had success with his size if Krug played back when he did…Sure there is, but I’m going to say the same thing. Probably back in my day when you used to play in Buffalo, or you used to play in the old Garden here where that rink was so small there were no corners, nowhere to hide, I think those small guys probably had a tougher time. But, you know, again it’s about the situation. Those guys probably excelled in other rinks. So, I don’t think there’s been that much of a change. You know, when I say a change, as far as the size of the guy whether he could play back then more than then or more now, I think it’s just a matter of can that guy, no matter what his size is, can he play in todays game? And if he could play twenty years ago or maybe just ten- I retired ten years ago- if he could play he played and if he couldn’t he couldn’t. So I think it’s the same thing here. Torey is – there’s a lot of good players, you know. Whether it’s on defense or even as forwards. And you know you look at [Tyler] Johnson last year for Tampa or you look at Austin Czarnik right now, what he’s done in camp. You say well, this guy’s not very big but he can play, you know. There’s guys like that that can adjust to the league no matter what the size of the, I guess, the opposition is, and if not they got enough skill to work around it.

On how beneficial it is to see the rookies play against outside competition like the New Jersey Devils last evening…Well I think it’s important. I look at some of our young guys you know and last night. You know Jake DeBrusk, when I saw him in Buffalo you could see he was trying to really sort things out and he wasn’t himself. Last night, I think I said it, we know he’s got the skill and stuff like that, but my biggest thing was how would he handle the grunt and the grittiness and the physical aspect of the game. Well I thought he did a great job last night in that area. Probably because he started to feel a little bit more confident that he can play some of these guys so those are the kinds of things that you have to do as a general manager, as a coach, as a scout, you know everybody involved is you have got to understand that this is an 18-year-old. And sometimes a rookie can be 18 and a rookie can be 23, 24 coming out of college. There is a big difference because you give that 18-year-old five years and see where he is at that point where that 23-year-old college player is so you have to take all of those things into consideration I think when you asses a guy. And right now I think a lot of those young players that you’re talking about, if I saw them in Buffalo, I thought all of them were a lot better. [Brandon] Carlo I thought was real good for us yesterday. There’s an 18-year-old defenseman I thought that handled himself really well. So there’s a lot of those guys we haven’t seen, [Zachary] Senyshyn, a lot of those other guys too that you know, [Jakub] Zboril who we still see him moving the puck well but we know he’s going to need some work you know without the puck and defending. Those are all things you have to envision further than what you see right now. And I think if you got good people in your organization that can do that you’re patient with your players and you get rewarded at the end.